Hey Gardner - here is our release from the governor's announcement of the policy. The governor's proposal takes current law a step further: Texans who drop out of school should not be able to drive. If they drop out, their driver's license should be revoked. This will serve as a powerful incentive for our students to stay in school and learn the skills they need to succeed in the workplace.

if you have any other questions, feel free to give me a call (512) 478-3276. thanks!

Gov.
Perry: Education and Driver’s License Privilege Should Be Linked

Education, Job Creation and Fiscal Responsibility Keys to Continued Success in Texas

HOUSTON
– Gov. Rick Perry today stressed the relationship between an educated
workforce and our state’s continued economic success at Nicholas Earth
Printing, a commercial printing company and Texas small business that
has helped keep our state’s economy moving.

In his remarks, Gov. Perry called on the Texas Education
Agency and the Department of Public Safety to work with local school
districts to further leverage the privilege of a driver’s license as an
incentive to keep students engaged in the education process.

“I believe that in order for high school-aged individuals to
get and keep a driver's license they should be enrolled in school, be
it bricks and mortar or our virtual high school, and, most importantly,
working toward their diploma or GED,” said Gov. Perry. “This approach
will not only give local school districts another tool in their efforts
to reduce dropouts. It will also give students an incentive to do the
work that will prepare them to compete in the workforce. ”

Gov. Perry also highlighted a recent report from the Texas
Workforce Commission that said Texas has created more private sector
jobs than any other state in the nation over the last 10 years and has
the lowest unemployment rate among the 10 largest states in the nation.

“These remarkable numbers indicate an economy with a strong
core and a state government committed to strong fiscal discipline that
is willing to stick to the basics,” said Gov. Perry.

Gov. Perry stressed the need to maintain a focus on job
creation efforts and uphold principles of fiscal responsibility as the
keys to continuing Texas’ success.

“Entrepreneurs know that they can succeed in Texas on their
own merits, without being taxed, regulated and frivolously sued out of
existence,” said Gov. Perry. “They also know that our workforce is
getting stronger by the day because we have improved the quality of
public education by emphasizing accountability, teacher incentive pay
and mastery of the basic subjects.
”

To ensure Texas continues providing a strong education to
meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive workplace, Gov.
Perry most recently announced a proposed expansion of the state’s
Virtual School Network. The expansion will improve access to high
quality, online courses for high school students, especially those in
rural schools and those educated at home. The proposal will also
provide resources to recapture students who have dropped out of school.

“By expanding and leveraging the Texas Virtual Schools
Network we can keep more young Texans engaged in their education and
make that future workforce even stronger,” said Gov. Perry. “As we work
to raise the quality of a Texas education even higher, we are also
working to lock in some wise limits on spending to keep Texas strong in
the days to come.
”

Gov. Perry also focused on fiscal responsibility by
reiterating the need for Texas to amend its constitution with two key
provisions: requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to approve
tax increases and limiting spending growth to the combined growth rates
of Texas’ population and inflation. Both amendments will ensure the
continued fiscal discipline that allowed Texas to balance its budget in
2009 while setting aside billions for its Rainy Day fund and cutting
taxes for more than 40,000 small businesses.

The governor pledged to keep working until every Texan who
wants a job has a job and noted that Texas’ adherence to low taxes,
fair laws and predictable regulations will lead the state to continued
economic success. Texas economist Ray Perryman recently noted that
Texas is the “last in and first out” when it comes to the current
economic downturn, pointing to the job growth that Texas has
experienced in three of the past six months and the fact that the
state’s unemployment rate has remained two points below the national
average.

“The story of hardworking innovators coming together to
attract the best and brightest is played out again and again all across
Texas as people take advantage of the job-friendly climate we’ve
created and risk their capital in pursuit of a vision,” said Gov.
Perry. “The fact is, even though no one is immune to the effects of the
economic downturn, Texas is better off than just about every other
state, thanks to years of disciplined conservative leadership at every
level.
”

Other education initiatives proposed by Gov. Perry include
doubling the number of Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
(T-STEM) academies in an effort to educate more Texas students in the
subjects required of an increasingly high tech economy and workplace,
and expanding the UTeach Program to five more higher education
institutions in an effort to recruit university students earning math
and science degrees into teaching.

We are reviewing Bill White's statement that Gov. Perry's proposal about denying driver's licenses to students if they are not working toward a high-school degree has been state law since 1989. This correct at all? I am hoping to write this today.

Thanks,

wgs

PS--We have this information from the TEA website indicating that students under 18 have to get a form signed by their school before they apply for a license:

Under age 18:Submit a Verification of Enrollment and Attendance (VOE) (CDD-104) form, or a letter from the school administrator as a substitute for the Verification of Enrollment and Attendance form. The letter must contain the same information as the VOE form.

NOTE: The VOE form verifies the applicant is enrolled in a public school, home school, private school or GED program. The VOE form is required for original and renewal applicants under the age of 18. VOE forms are valid for 30 days after issuance in the spring and fall semesters and for 90 days during the summer.

Then, from the TEA website, confirming that since 1989 a dropout cannot get a license:

My teen dropped out of high school and has been told that she cannot get a driver license until she is 18. Is that true?

Yes. A Texas law was passed in 1989, requiring that persons under 18 years of age must be enrolled and attending school as a condition of licensing that person to operate a motor vehicle. There was an exception: if the person had a high school diploma or a GED, the driver license could be issued.

Proof of enrollment and attendance at a school is established by the "Verification and Enrollment of Attendance ("VOE") form which the student can obtain from his or her high school. Additional information is available at www.tea.state.tx.us/safedriver/voe04.html

My son's high school won't give him a signed verification of Enrollment and Attendance (VOE) Form because they say that he missed too many classes. Can they do that?

Yes. The issuance or denial of the VOE Form is strictly a local decision, and districts (or schools) are permitted to impose conditions and restrictions on enrollment and attendance as they pertain to driver license eligibility. More detailed information is provided at www.tea.state.tx.us/safedriver/voe04.html

In the excerpt below from the memo, Bill White explicitly highlights 2009 as the only time not to pursue cap and trade.

"Avoid during 2009 wading into the mire of cap-and-trade or user taxes on carbon before the new Administration and Congress has made progress on the above four items."

On Jun 4, 2010, at 2:47 PM, Gardner Selby wrote:

Thanks.

Far as I can tell, the November 2008 e-mail urges the incoming administration not to push cap and trade before succeeding on other energy-related fronts. Nowhere does the e-mail offer guidance on pitching cap and trade in its own right. Thoughts?

Is there separate evidence of White coaching Obama on how to sell cap and trade, as Perry puts it?

g.

On Jun 4, 2010, at 2:35 PM, Catherine Frazier wrote:

Hey gardner -

Below are links to material we've put out regarding this, including sourcing for the memo and statements made by the campaign.

Same question as below. Did Perry have any other basis for his statement?

wgs

On Jun 3, 2010, at 12:47 PM, Gardner Selby wrote:

Catherine:

In a May speech in Houston, according to the Houston Chronicle's politics blog (link below), Gov. Perry said: "My opponent (Bill White) in November of 2008 sent a missive to the White House, to President Obama-elect, and said, 'Here's how you need to sell cap-and-trade to the American people.' " I have the email to Rahm Immanuel. Is there additional information on this statement?